


Sunrise

by charis_nikola



Series: The Golden Sun [2]
Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Possible Character Death, Sister bonds and stuff, semi-slow build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:54:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23556391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charis_nikola/pseuds/charis_nikola
Summary: Lirahna, the youngest sister of Janai and Khessa, is now a young teenager and as she learns to think for herself, she begins to see the truth about her family's beliefs. Her life is changed when a visitor comes to Xadia. This is Book Two of The Golden Sun Series.
Relationships: Aaravos & Aditi (The Dragon Prince), Avizandum | Thunder/Zubeia, Ethari/Runaan (The Dragon Prince), Ibis (The Dragon Prince)/Original Female Character(s), Lain/Tiadrin (The Dragon Prince)
Series: The Golden Sun [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1682155
Comments: 11
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Book Two is officially here! I hope you all enjoy it! Also once again, thank you to CosmotheEgg for beta-reading the chapter!

After the trial of the Midnight Star, things felt weird in Xadia. There was a brief period where everyone took the chance to focus on continuing their lives while dealing with the change that was yet to come. Life in Lux Aurea continued to be prosperous for the Sunfire monarchy, and the young Lirahna continued to increase in strength and in power. However, she never forgot about Ibis, especially during her training. The young Sunfire elf thought about him often, and this caused her to become distracted during her lessons, much to her grandmother’s dismay.

For Ibis and Lirah wrote to each other often and even though the distance between them was far, they grew close and eventually became best friends, despite not seeing each other for a long time. In fact, their relationship had grown to the point where Lirah even told her older sisters about Ibis.

Well...she didn’t actually tell Janai and Khessa about Ibis. They found out about him after they witnessed her getting excited when one of the guards brought Lirah a letter from the young Skywing elf.

Khessa had taken the letter from the guard before Lirah could, then she opened it and read his letter aloud in the throne room. Lirah, in turn, became extremely flustered and angry at her eldest sister for essentially exposing her friendship and infatuation with Ibis. Ever since then, both Khessa and Janai would jokingly make fun of Lirah and tease her over her new little crush. But regardless, life was good within the Golden City. 

Before the Xadian inhabitants had realized it, many years had come and gone and soon, the mirror of Aaravos was nearly forgotten by most, with the exception of the now young teenager Lirah, in which the event would plague her mind from time to time. In fact, she often had recurring dreams about the event, but in her opinion, they weren’t too bad.

As a result, the young elf figured that it wasn’t that big of a deal and chose not to say anything to her family out of fear that she would over worry them. However, she couldn’t keep her thoughts hidden forever.

One day, Lirah was finishing her lessons with Azavi, and as she made to leave the Sunforge, she noticed Janai crafting something peculiar, using the light to assist her. Lirah, who was curious to see what she was making, went over to her to see what her sister was up to.

“What are you doing?”

Janai jumped at Lirah’s intrusion and glared at her. “Lirah you can’t sneak up on me like that. This is a dangerous area!”

Lirah furrowed her brows. “Sorry..” then she smiled sheepishly at her. “Can I see what you’re building?”

Not being able to stay mad at her sister, Janai sighed softly and smiled as she regarded her youngest sister. “I’m making a Sunforge blade. This will be my weapon when I go into battle.” 

Lirah’s eyes widened as she stared at the blade in awe. “That’s amazing! It looks so cool!”

Janai grinned as her chest puffed up in pride. “Thanks, Lirah! If you want, I can make one for you too!”

Lirah contemplated that for a moment, then she shook her head. “I don’t like swords, but I would love to build a bo staff! Can we craft that instead?” 

Janai tilted her head slightly. “A bo staff huh? Are you sure? I don’t think it will really help in a fight.”

Lirah pouted. “You don’t know that, and yes I’m sure I want to build a bo staff. It might be able to help me whenever I don’t use magic.”

Janai snorted. “If you’re sure. Let’s get started then.”

It was late in the evening when Janai finished helping Lirah craft her bo staff. After it was officially done, Lirah stepped back to examine her new weapon. It was a long, thin golden staff that was a few inches taller than her and nearly reached Janai’s height.

Lirah grinned and she hugged her sister tightly. “Thank you so much! I love it!” 

Janai laughed and hugged her back. “I’m glad. And I hope that you never have to use it because then that would mean you’re in some kind of trouble.”

Lirah scoffed with a mischievous smile. “Relax, I most likely won’t use it unless it’s against you.” 

“Oh, whatever.” Janai rolled her eyes and playfully shoved her as the two of them left the Sunforge together. 

Upon arriving at her room, Lirah parted from Janai and she performed her nightly routine before going to bed. When she closed her eyes, she was immediately visited by the same dreams as before with Aaravos constantly being at the center of them. However, this time, her dream took a sinister turn, and she woke up gasping in the middle of the night.

This process would occur over the course of many days, and Lirah was beginning to lose sleep from these ordeals. The dreams also distracted her from her lessons, which her grandmother was not pleased with, and she confronted her youngest granddaughter over it during one afternoon.

Lirah was sitting on her bed in her room and upon hearing a knock on her door, she sluggishly got up and opened it. She was unsurprised when she saw her grandmother standing behind it, looking concerned. Lirah stepped aside without a word and let her in the room. She got back in the bed and slouched her head, for she knew her grandmother was not very happy as she sat down next to her.

“Lirah,” Aditi started, “What’s going on? Azavi said that you were distracted again. Is it that boy? That Skywing mage whom you constantly write to?”

Lirah shook her head. “I really don’t want to talk about it, grandmama. I’m fine.”

Aditi then reached out and gently rested her hand underneath Lirah’s chin, tilting it up slightly so Lirah could look at her. “You have dark circles under your eyes, my firebug. Have you not been getting sleep?”

Lirah sighed. “Okay, maybe I haven’t been sleeping well for a few days, but it’s fine. I can handle it. You really don’t need to worry about me. I promise I’ll do better and not slack off.”

Aditi continued to look upon her with concern. However, she didn’t want to pry at that moment and knew that when it happened again, Lirah would eventually tell her what was going on.

As these dreams plagued Lirah more often, she still chose not to mention them to her grandmother, or to the rest of her family for that matter. She believed that she could handle her lack of sleep all on her own. However, Aditi began to pry in hopes that Lirah would tell her what the problem was, and as a result, her actions were starting to bother and annoy Lirah.

She was grateful for her grandmother’s concern for her well being and appreciated it at first, but now, her constant inquiries happened more often than not, and she believed that her grandmother was becoming very overbearing and controlling.

Regardless, this didn’t change Lirah’s high opinion of her grandmother, for she loved her very much and continued to look up to her. Lirah knew that her grandmother had her flaws (as did she,) and was just trying to look out for her and make sure that she was safe and healthy. But in the coming times, that would soon change as a result of a new arrival in Lux Aurea.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is once again beta-read by CosmoTheEgg! This one was really hard for me to write because of how little we know about the Mage Wars and the Orphan Queen, but I hope you all enjoy it!

As time grew on, life may have been prosperous for Lirah and her family within Lux Aurea, but in the human kingdoms, the events that occurred were not so great. Since the humans had been banished from Xadia, wars began and many people were vying for power and different territories. 

Hundreds of years before the fall of the Midnight Star, in the human kingdoms, there was an event called the Mage Wars, which was known in Xadia as the “Judgement of the Half-Moon.” This event followed the banishment of humans from Xadia and consisted of many dark mages vouching for their claims to power.

From these events, there was a distinct imbalance between those who wielded power and those who did not. Many innocent people had been killed in the crossfire, and this ultimately led to the formations of new territories and new monarchies once the wars had ended. 

One of the human kingdoms that had been affected by the mage wars was the Kingdom of Katolis. Now, this kingdom had the largest territory within the human lands, for it expanded all the way to the borders of Xadia. Since the separation, the kingdom of Katolis vowed to guard the borders, for there was a breach that prevented people from traveling to and from Xadia. 

On the Xadian side of the border, the notorious Sunfire elves were the ones who guarded this side of the border. Within the kingdom of Katolis, there was a young woman from Katolis who vowed to go to Xadia to get help because of what had occurred during the Mage Wars. 

Many people had been killed, including her parents and she had already faced many assassination attempts from people both within the kingdom and outside of it. From a Xadian perspective, this girl’s name was unknown, but in Katolis, she was deemed as an important figure throughout the human territories.

Now, this woman had a special connection to Xadia through someone she had met as a young girl and the person whom she had met, in turn, was considered to be a very powerful being both within Xadia and in the human kingdoms. 

While briefly focusing on the woman’s path to Xadia, she endured many hardships during her travel, but upon arrival, the border, for some odd reason, was not heavily guarded on the human side. As a result, the human girl did not have a hard time going through her side of the breach. 

However, once she crossed into Xadian territory, she did not expect what came next. The woman had sighed in relief after safely crossing the breach into Xadia, and when she turned around to continue on her journey, she was immediately greeted with the tips of Sunfire swords and, by extent, a group of angry Sunfire elves.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, back in Lux Aurea, Lirah was in the throne room practicing her magic while her grandmother sat watching her protectively from her seat of authority. Lirah drew a rune with complete concentration and furrowed brows. “Derigo Lux.”

When only a flicker of light appeared from her fingertips, Lirah frustratingly stomped on the ground. “This happens every time I try this stupid spell! I can’t seem to get it!”

Queen Aditi smiled fondly at Lirah. “Calm.” Once Lirah sobered up, she continued, “Now, take a deep breath and then, try again, my firebug. I know you can get this down. Steer the light from your fingertips.” 

Lirah sighed and did as her grandmother instructed before trying again. Concentrating harder, she drew the rune and spoke it with more confidence. With that, the light from her fingertips became a spark. She gracefully stretched her arm back then maneuvered it past her body in a straight line.

Upon doing this, a string of light came out of pointer and index fingers and traveled in the direction she aimed. Lirah’s eyes widened and she bounced up and down in glee. “Grandmama! I did it!” 

Aditi beckoned Lirah over to her with a smile and stood up. “You did well, my firebug. I’m so proud of you. You are growing stronger every day and looking more lively than you had been, my dear.”

Lirah grinned slightly in response. Her grandmother was right. Her dreams haven’t been messing with her as much as they had been before, and Lirah was very happy about that. Aditi then crouched down and kissed the top of Lirah’s head as two Sunfire guards entered the throne room with urgency. “My queen! There’s been an intrusion in Xadia! A human! On our side of the breach!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who are wondering, 'Derigo Lux' means "I steer light" in Latin!


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been feeling soooo motivated to post chapters lately, so here's an early update! This chapter is beta-read by CosmotheEgg. Enjoy!

Queen Aditi’s lips curled in a snarl as she slowly descended the steps of the dais. “A human?! In Xadia?!”

The guards nodded. “Yes my queen, she is being brought here as we speak.”

Queen Aditi narrowed her eyes. “Good. Lirah, you may stay when the human arrives, but you are not allowed to leave my side. You don’t need that filth touching you.” 

Lirah tilted her head slightly while furrowing her brows. “But grandmama, what if she’s not that bad? She must’ve come here for a reason, right?” 

“I don’t care why she has come!” Aditi snapped, “She is not welcome here and will face the wrath of Lux Aurea.” 

Lirah’s head lowered, as she knew that her grandmother could not be swayed and at that moment, the words of the archmage, Aaravos, came back to haunt her. Not wanting to be in the line of fire of her grandmother’s anger, she decided not to speak out again. 

After a few moments, the human girl was brought into the throne room in chains. By then, most of the royal monarchy, including the court, stood by the throne where Queen Aditi sat. Lirah stood next to Janai, who was next to Khessa, and the latter stood at the right hand of the throne.

Azavi, the Sunfire mage as well as Lirah’s mentor, stood to the left of Queen Aditi, holding the Sunfire Staff. Upon arrival, the human girl was pushed to her knees in front of the throne and she bowed her head in what appeared to be shame. 

Lirah noticed how similar her complexion was to the Sunfire elves, and this prompted her to wonder if she had distant relations to one of the elves in Lux Aurea. She then observed how worn out and dirty the woman’s clothes were, and her braided hair looked disheveled and messy from travel. 

Lirah pitied her, for the woman appeared to be the same age as her middle sister, Janai. Queen Aditi crossed her legs and looked down on the human. “Who are you, and why have you intruded upon Xadian territory?” 

The woman, in turn, glanced up at the radiant Sunfire Queen on the throne. “I am known as the Orphan Queen of Katolis, and I need your help, please. My people are starving and there have been many wars waged upon our lands. I took the risk of coming here because one of your own promised his help and assistance.”

Queen Aditi scoffed. “Oh please. An elf would never help you, human. For you don’t deserve it.”

The Orphan Queen struggled slightly in her chains, causing some of the guards to pull out their weapons if the girl tried anything. “Please! I’m telling you the truth! He promised that help would come if I sought you out!” 

Queen Aditi then sat up, outraged at the human girl’s statement. “Who made this claim?! Reveal this traitor’s name now or be punished for your insolence!” Lirah saw the human girl gulp. 

The Orphan Queen continued to humbly stare at the ground as she knew she was at the Sunfire Queen's mercy. “The archmage, Aaravos, promised my safety and claimed that help would come if I asked for him.” 

At that response, everyone in the room gasped and Queen Aditi recoiled back with widened eyes. Whispers formulated within the throne room, many of them included the name, Aaravos. Lirah watched on, emotionless, but conflict once again arose from within. Aaravos had mentioned the mistreatment of humans, but no one had perceived that he befriended one. 

His name not been spoken of for years, but his words from Storm Spire constantly plagued Lirah’s thoughts to the point where they had been manifested into the dreams she suffered from. 

Lirah continued to say nothing as Queen Aditi’s demeanor revealed one of rage and fury. “The archmage, Aaravos has been imprisoned for his crimes, filthy human and as such, we will not help you. For your sake, you must leave Xadia immediately.”

The Orphan Queen opened her mouth to interrupt. “Please! I’m in desperate need of your help! I’ve risked my life to get here, and I can’t go back empty-handed! I won’t leave until I get the help I came for!” The room immediately fell silent. Even Lirah was shocked. No one had talked back to Queen Aditi, human or elf. Except one, but that elf was gone and had been for years.

Queen Aditi slowly rose up and took her time descending the steps. She motioned for Azavi to join her. Her expression of fury was replaced by a malicious smirk, and Lirah knew that something was about to happen. Queen Aditi stopped in front of the orphan queen and kneeled down in front of her. She then used her scepter to force the girl to look up at her. 

“Hm…” She chided, “It is not wise to talk back to an elf, much less a Queen. For your fate, young girl, is in my hands.”

She then removed the scepter from the Orphan Queen’s chin and straightened her posture. “We shall see if you are worthy of our help. The light will decide!” 

Queen Aditi then stepped out of the way as Azavi took her place with the Sunfire staff. Lirah was shocked. They had never really needed to use the light for much, but she knew of the process and the effect that it had on most. The light revealed the truth, but it also had the potential to render those who endured it of their vision, both temporarily and permanently. 

Lirah stepped forward with a sudden urge to help the human girl. She knew that what she was about to face wasn’t right. “Grandmother, you can’t! She just wants our help! Please!” 

Queen Aditi raised her hand and glared at her youngest granddaughter. “Silence! Or you will be removed from the court!”

Lirah didn’t want to keep her mouth shut, but regardless, she once again lowered her head in defeat and closed her eyes, not wanting to look as the process began.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow it honestly feels like it's been weeks since I've updated, but it's only been a few days! So excited for y'all to read the final chapter of Sunrise! This chapter was once again beta-read by CosmotheEgg. Enjoy!

Lirah was furious. After the Orphan Queen faced the light and passed the test, Queen Aditi had deemed her worthy of their help. However, despite all that the young queen endured, Aditi chose not to help the human girl. The Sunfire elf Queen had the guards escort her back to the human territories and threatened that if she ever chose to come back, the penalty would be her head. 

Lirah wished that she had the chance to talk to the human girl. She genuinely felt bad for her and was angry at her grandmother for choosing not to help out of arrogance. Once again, Lirah was conflicted and the voice of Aaravos resonated from within her mind.

At the moment, Lirah was currently pacing in her grandmother’s office where her two elder sisters were. Khessa was busy lounging on the sofa observing her fingernails, and Janai was currently hitting a sword against a dummy. 

Lirah continued striding around the office, much to the irritation of her eldest sister. “Sit down, Lirah and just practice your magic. Constantly traipsing around the room won’t change that disgusting human's fate.”

Lirah paused and glared at Khessa. “I don’t understand what you have against humans. That girl just wanted to protect her people. We should've done the right thing and helped her.” 

Khessa rolled her eyes and didn’t glance up from her fingers. “It is simple, little sister. They broke the rules by taking the lives of magical creatures to satisfy themselves. They are selfish beings and don’t deserve our help. One day, sister, you will learn and you will understand the danger that humans pose to our world.” 

Lirah scoffed in response. Moments later, Queen Aditi opened the double doors and entered her office where the three were. “The human is finally gone. She was taken back to her territory in the human kingdoms.” 

Lirah angrily turned to her. “What you did was uncalled for. You should’ve given her the help she needed.”

Queen Aditi stared at her for a moment, then she laughed. “Oh, my little firebug. I hope you are joking. Why don’t you go and practice your magic some more? Show me what Azavi has taught you.”

“No, grandmother.” Lirah closed her eyes and firmly stood her ground. There was no turning back now. Her thoughts had led her to a place where she couldn’t return.

Aditi raised an eyebrow. Her youngest grandchild had never defied her. “Excuse me?” She then glanced over to Janai and Khessa. “What is with your sister?” 

Janai shrugged and continued to practice. “Something about feeling bad for the human girl.”

Aditi turned back to Lirah. “Is this true? Granddaughter?” 

Lirah was put on the spot, but she knew she needed to speak her mind. “Yes. What we’ve done against the humans...it’s..it’s not right.” She clenched her fists and shook her head. “We need to make peace with them, not stand against them. I believe that they can teach us more than we know. We can gain more knowledge by learning from each other, grandmama!” 

Aditi recoiled back. “I’ve never heard you speak this way before. What has happened to you, my Lirah? Has your mind somehow been tampered with by dark magic?” 

Lirah squinted. “What?! No! This is just what I think!”

Aditi notified one of the guards. “Tell Azavi to get the light ready again. I need to make sure my granddaughter’s mind has not been messed with. This is extremely unlike her to say such things.” By then, Janai and Khessa were watching the two of them with their undivided attention. 

Lirah was outraged, and as the thoughts from previous events built up from within her, she was like a time bomb, ready to explode. “Grandmother my mind is fine! It’s you who is the problem!”

Her chest was heaving in anger. “You are so prideful! So arrogant! You call humans 'disgusting vermin,' but you never even think to look at yourself! You perceive yourself as higher than them when in truth, you are no better. You don’t even want to accept the fact that humans could provide us with knowledge and insight that could help us! Instead, you remain divided and full of pride! Aaravos was right!” 

At the mention of Aaravos, Queen Aditi clutched her chest as if she was suffering from an attack. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, and as she stared at Lirah, horrified, she knew that Aaravos had succeeded. He had turned her own granddaughter against her. “What did that elf say to you...Lirah...my Lirah..” 

Lirah glared at her. “Stop! Just stop! You don’t get to say anything because I’m not finished. You are an arrogant, entitled, selfish fool, grandmother! You always try to control everyone and everything and I can’t stand you anymore! I just can’t! And for that, I just..I can’t stay here anymore...I...” 

Lirah came to a realization and suddenly, her mind was opened. “I...need to leave...I need to get out of here..” Lirah left the room in a hurry with everyone hot on her tail.

Aditi called out to her, “Lirah wait!” But Lirah’s mind was made up and she stormed off to her room to pack.

Ignoring the different calls, she went into her room and slammed the doors shut. She sighed, thinking that she was alone, only to turn and see Janai lounging on her bed. 

Janai sat up and smiled at her. “You know, next time you abruptly storm off, you should take the shortcut to your room.”

Lirah rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t matter. Also, you should leave, Janai. I’d prefer to keep my privacy.” 

Janai snorted. “You know she won’t let you leave.”

Lirah ignored her and started packing her stuff in a small bag. After a few moments of silence, Lirah sat down on the bed and stared at her hands. “I never thought that it would come to this. I really didn’t. But I have to leave, Janai. This perception that we have about humans...I just can’t embrace it. I need to think for myself, and I’ve just been so cooped up here. This was the moment I needed to impact my decision.”

Janai sat down next to her placed her hand on Lirah’s shoulder. “Lirah…”

The latter turned and snapped at her. “What?”

Her elder sister sighed and dropped her hand. “Just...remember that you can always come back. No matter what everyone else thinks.” 

Lirah’s demeanor softened when she glanced upon her sister. “I know. And thank you...for not bashing me because of what I think.”

Janai then pulled her into a tight embrace. “Don’t even apologize. We’re sisters remember?”

Lirah buried her head against Janai’s shoulder as a tear left her eye. “Always.” 

Hours later, many Sunfire guards, along with Queen Aditi and Khessa burst into Lirah’s room, which seemed empty except for their presence along with Janai’s. Aditi ran over to Janai, who stared emotionlessly out of the open window. “Janai..where is your sister?” 

Janai’s head lowered and she turned to face her grandmother. “She left.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're on the road to Book 3!


End file.
